


Pebbles from the Ruins

by orphan_account



Category: The Yogscast
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-25
Updated: 2013-09-28
Packaged: 2017-12-21 07:01:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 6,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/897269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bits and pieces from various unfinished stories and short drabbles based on the Blackrock Chronicles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Makeover

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposted from tumblr where these were originally posted, three dribble sets in this chapter, all fairly subpar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written at the start of the new season in a look at the new character design for Zoeya.

Zoeya steels herself and walks into the shop, staffed entirely by Mushrooms. The Mushroom at the front looks surprised to see her, but takes her into the back, introducing her to the Mushroom who’d be doing her… work. The back room is covered in art, some tasteful, others she couldn’t look at for too long. The back wall behind the counter is lined with bonemeal paraphernalia in glass cases, some she recognized the uses of and others she couldn’t place at all. 

The cashier heads back out front, and the artist gestures towards one of the beds, asking what she wants done. Zoeya describes it as best she can, watching nervously as the Mushroom gets out the supplies he needs. The Mushroom makes a few sketches, and together they settle on the final design before he gets out the ink needed, telling her that it wouldn’t sting as bad as she thinks it will. 

An hour later, Zoeya walks out, arms wrapped, gel in her back pocket, and a new destination in mind. Her first destination was a general store, where she purchases yellow dye. 

Slowly, she walks back to the apartments, rubbing the skin below the tattoo on her left arm. The adrenaline high is catching up with her, she thinks giddily, and she grins, picking up her pace and almost skips her way to her rooms. At the door, she runs into Teep, who gives her an incredulous look, gesturing at her arms with a questioning tilt to his head. “No time to explain, Tee, I’ve things I need to do, places to be!" She grins at him and hops in the cart, calling out behind her, “There’s a meeting at seven, be there, yeah?" 

The cart whips around the corner before Zoeya could catch Teep’s answer, and she laughs, feeling alive for the first time in a long time. Seeing her stop, she hops out, letting the cart fly further along the track, heading back to catch the next round of visitors. She hums, walking quickly into her apartment. She sets the bag with the precious dye on her bed and grins, pulling the dye out. 

She knew exactly where this blond will go, and she knew who it was for. 

The hair was for her past, blond streak mimicking His, in the same spot and the same shade. 

The tattoos were for her future, as a stronger and more independent person.


	2. Upsidedown and backwards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to Awesomecuza's [Anthro!Teep drawing](http://awesomecuza.tumblr.com/tagged/teep). Origenally meant to be part of a series that never happened

Teep grinned and lined up a shot on a pig on the opposite side of the lake. Slowly releasing his breath, he loosed the arrow, pulling out another and lining up a second shot before the first had hit. As the first pig squealed it’s death call, Teep had his next target in his sights. Loosing his arrow again, he cast across the running herd for an easy target, trying or one that was running slower than the rest. It was a near thing, but the graze slowed the old sow enough for Teep to take her down cleanly on his next shot.

Grinning, Teep carefully stowed his bow on his back, and hopped down out of the tree, crouching on impact. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted himself in the lake. “Looking good, handsome.” He smirked at his reflection, aware of the intimidating picture he made. Rising to his feet, he brushed a hand through his hair, dislodging a leaf that he somehow gotten impaled on a head spike. Adjusting his bandana, he strolled to the other end of the lake, hand on sword. Last time he’d gotten cocky, he’d nearly been blown up by a creeper.

Surprisingly enough, he made it to the other side of the lake in one piece, and took the time to collect his spoils. It was a matter of moments to sling the pigs over his shoulders, and soon he was on his way home with enough meat to last him for a week.

Teep whistled as he strolled jauntily down the forest path that lead from the lake to his house. One day, that pig herd would learn not to go back to that lake, but until then he would have no problems with taking advantage of their idiocy. His whistling dies off as he spots something flicker in the distance, the iconic purple flare lighting up around it. “Oh shit.” Teep instantly transferred his gaze to the ground immediately ahead of him, so as to not provoke the enderman flitting around ahead of him. Of all the mobs that lingered around in the wilderness, he minded the endermen the least. As long as he left them alone, they left him alone, which he could respect!

What he couldn’t respect was this enderman. This guy’d been bugging him on the path to and from his house ever since he’d build it. Teep heard the warp sound go off behind him, and sighed, looking up again. Now was the annoying part of the walk home. The enderman warped again, getting closer, something that Teep knew would repeat again and again until they crossed that invisible line between ‘Teep’s property’ and the forest. Every once in a while, the enderman would warp off, vanishing for almost a minute before returning, closer than ever. Finally, after five minutes of being stalked, Teep reached the clearing he had named his own. Once inside the clearing, he laughed in victory. “Made it again!” Teep sauntered towards his house, determinedly not thinking about the fact that the enderman could have just teleported into the clearing at any time. 

Readjusting the pigs on his back, he opened the door, jaw dropping in shock. “What?” He shrieked, running inside. “No, no, no!” He threw the pigs where the table should be and went into the back room. Gone, everything, gone. All of his things, his spare arrows, his furniture- gone.

From the forest, he could hear the hissing laughter of the enderman. “No.”

Teep pulled out his sword and went to chase the enderman vainly through the forest.


	3. Teeptastic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written when the Coffee shop AU was floating around tumblr, mostly because really, come on, there was a chance to write a furry and I snagged it and -ran-. 
> 
> Original comment: "Because the Teep note demanded me to address his ‘human’ nature.
> 
> Because I am a terrible person. And also because I fucking well can. /saunters into the distance, tail set jauntily"

Teep shrugged deeper into his hoodie, bracing himself against the cold. It was only a little way further until he got to Blackrock, and he really just wanted a coffee, some warmth, and some company after the day he’d had. Zoeya got off soon, and she’d be willing to listen, even if she didn’t really understand. Hell, even in the community he was a bit of a drastic case compared to most.

It’d started after his class on reptilian anatomy/physiology, fairly obviously. He’d been on edge after the dream he’d had last night, of long, lazy heat, the sun beating down on his back, a tail flicking behind him, the crunch of a cricket. He’d been on edge, but the class had made it worse, the details and focus on his particular object of dysphoria making him feel worse and worse throughout the entire fifty minute long class, until it was all he could do to jot down basic notes and flee afterwards.

He knew it wasn’t exactly usual to feel like this, but what the hell could he do? His therapists throughout his life hadn’t been any help, and the community was essentially useless, caught in a constant state of drama and trolling.

The wind shifted, splattering rain in his face and he shuddered, picking up his pace. Coffee would make things better, it always did.


	4. Loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written in reaction to episode 17

The light hit them first, a sudden flash of it from behind that made Teep cry out in shock and Rythian pale beneath his mask. They whirl, and the sight of the cloud, that horrible, terrible cloud rising from where the castle should be almost sent the mage to his knees. The ground shuddered beneath them, sending the two of them to the ground, and the sound, that horrible, terrible sound wasn’t that far behind, obscuring the mage’s cries of anger and loss, and the dinosaur’s roar of fury.

The ground settled, the noise faded, and the cloud rose above the remnants of Blackrock, above the remnants of Zoeya.

Rythian shot into the air, followed by Teep on the ground, racing to see for themselves the destruction wrought by the nuke. Soon, though, the crater was in sight, and it was clear that there was nothing there, nothing alive at least. The furthest edges of the farm was barely intact, but the rest of blackrock was ravaged, chunks scattered across the landscape.

Nothing, not even the best of technomages could have survived this.

Rythian landed on the edge of the crater and surveyed the landscape, hoping vainly that he would see something, anything that would imply survival.

Nothing.

Choking back tears of rage and guilt, Rythian waited until Teep arrived, then wordlessly handed the dinosaur the bag containing her animals.

He had a scientist to deal with.


	5. Teep Waited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After-the-nuke fic from Teep's point of view.

Teep waited.

The red girl wouldn’t be gone long, he knew she wouldn’t. She had rescued him, she had gone with his schemes, and she would come back.

His mage had gone, entrusting Teep with the bag of animals to protect. The red girl wouldn’t have liked the animals to get injured, so Teep protected them like he protected her, sitting next to the crater, bag tucked over his neck, tucked tight under his belly. 

Time passed, and Teep had to leave his post to get food, once, twice, but he always returned. 

The mage returned, and joined Teep at the edge, staring down at the remnants of the castle. 

They waited. 

His mage wasn’t as good at getting food for himself, but that’s what Teep was for, leaving to hunt, but always returning to the crater, to his mage. 

They waited. 

Days passes, the world around them healed. They released the animals into makeshift pens, pens that evolved into permanent housing as time passes. 

They wait. 

They wait. 

They wait.


	6. Urges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written after a discussion with tumblr user xxDeathnotronic over the possibility of Vampire!Rythian. 
> 
> Which turned into PsychicVampire!Rythian

Rythian rubbed his arm absently, ignoring Teep’s worried glance. Ever since the dinosaur had discovered his affinity with steam powered devices, Rythian had tried to distance himself from the new scientist. Teep had let that go on for exactly a day before breaking down the door to Rythian’s room in their hut. 

Rythian’s arm twinged, reminding the mage what he had to do. Sighing, he turned to face the dinosaur head on, noting the concerned look on Teep’s face. “I’m going out. It won’t be long, I’ll be back in time to feed the cows in the morning." 

Teep’s wordless protests, involving roars and arm flails that would frighten a lesser man, were ignored as Rythian slipped out of their makeshift hut, one that had gone from temporary shelter from the rain, to their permanent home. The night air carried a chill, as the seasons shifted further and further into fall. The nights were already growing long, something that helped Rythian in his unsavory task.

He rubbed a hand over his flying ring, feeding a bit of magic into it to activate it’s gravity defying powers. Carefully, Rythian pushed off the ground, just as Teep followed him out into the brisk night. Ignoring the dinosaur’s continued rant, as unintelligible as it is, Rythian flew away, the wordless roars and growls fading off behind him. 

He always felt guilty when he left Teep like this, but it was for the dinosaur’s best interest. Let him wonder, just so long as it was wondering and not confirmation. Rythian felt guilty enough about this, he didn’t need Teep knowing about it as well. 

The dinosaur was all he had left of Her, and although it only sent a distant pain through his chest at the thought of Her, and although he was still able to function without Her around, he still couldn’t bear the thought of losing his last connection to Her, his flame haired girl. 

Up ahead, growing in the distance, was the monolith of Honeydew’s company. Rythian slowed, looking around for any monsters he could take. 

There. 

Rythian dove, hand striking the top of the Creeper’s head before the creature even realized what was going on. It was a matter of seconds to sap the life from the creature, leaving the monster a desiccated husk lying on the forest floor. Rythian grimaced as he flew up again, wiping his hand on his pants. Creepers, like most monsters, tasted terribly and weren’t filling, not really. 

At the start, when he’d first realized that the Enderbane was sapping his life, he’d tried to pull exclusively from monsters, and it had worked! 

It just hadn’t worked for long.

Soon enough, they weren’t enough. Their essence, their life, started to taste rotten in his mouth, whereas before it has tasted like the most delicious elixir. 

Soon enough, his hunger had driven him to more… human prey. 

Rythian drifted closer to the Honeydew dormitories, cautiously surveying the grounds for any sign of activity. Nothing. This late, even the animals were tucked away, and the fires were banked low, the science-lights in the giant factory turned off. 

Quietly, Rythian hovered above the dormitory murmuring a sleep spell below his breath, ensuring that if any of them weren’t asleep already, they were now. He drifted lower, his hunger temporarily assuaged by the Creeper he had eaten earlier, giving him the presence of mind enough to take his time. Even spell-sleep could be broken by a too-loud noise. 

Carefully, he entered the building, evaluating the status of those inside. Only Xephos and Honeydew tonight, damnit. Rythian drifted on flightlight feet to Honeydew’s bed, as he had taken from Xephos too recently. The sight of the dwarf sprawled out on his large bed made Rythian’s mouth water, and his stomach protest. 

Rythian lay his hand on the dwarf’s head, and the process was over in a matter of seconds, as he took far, far less with the dwarf than with the Creeper. The instant he felt full, the second the sweet, light taste of sentiant soul became too tempting, he broke the connection, pulling his hand away quickly. 

Even so, the damage was done, Honeydew’s sleep was disturbed, now, his previously peaceful dream turned dark. 

Rythian backed quietly out of the building, and flew away as quickly as he could, back to the worried dinosaur and their makeshift ragged house, too small to compensate for the jagged hole in their lives.


	7. Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another spawned from talking with xxDeathnotronic and Catterflyart, this one influenced by Teep showing up in Lalna's Jurassic Park playthrough.

Bright light pierced though him.

In what took an eternity, the light was all he was- was all he knew- until he moved, jerked, flailed. He blinked, and the world went into focus a second before he fell off the pedestal and onto the floor, the shock of the impact jolted through him, knocking him out from the shock.

His second awakening was to a numb upper appendage, something he poked with vague alarm before moving on to inspect the rest of his anatomy. Two upper appendages, three lower, one of which flared back and didn’t seem to be of much use. He pushed himself up, blinking to bring the room into sharp clarity, his arm coming back to him in staticky pain. Carefully, cautious of his tail, he got to his feet, looking around to see where he had awoken for the first time.

White was the predominant impression, followed by clean. He was standing among pedestals, next to one that he must have rolled off of, in that first, impressionable panic of awakening. He glanced around, suddenly realizing that if he had come from one of these pedestals, one of these eggs, then wouldn’t these others be his- his what?

Siblings?

Broodkin?

He shook his head. His. These others would be his. His to protect and ensure that they didn’t wake to pain like he had.

He started with the one next to his pedestal, peering into the egg curiously, wondering if he could see one of his broodkin stirring inside. He couldn’t, but that didn’t stop him from repeating the gesture with each of the eggs, moving slowly from one end of the room to the other, slowly investigating his siblings, checking them over with something approaching pride at their numbers.

As he approached the other end of the room, he heard a noise from above. He froze, hands clenched on an empty egg. The noise came closer, and he flinched, sharp talons puncturing the empty casing, sending out a gush of water through the room. He didn’t have time to mourn his lost sibling, however, as the creature making the noise jumped into the room from above, and he had to escape. He ran, grabbing weapons on instinct, heading out of the building and into the forest, shooting at the creature as often as he could without running the risk of being shot himself.

It wasn’t until later, until he was well into the forest, and he had long since lost the creature, that he realized that he had left his broodkin at the mercy of the beast.


	8. Blocks?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spawned by one of [Catterflyart's pictures.](http://catterflyart.tumblr.com/post/47208630135/chinhands-and-thinks-about-spacemen-and-dwarves)

Xephos clutched the ice and coughed, hacking out water, gasping for air. Last he had known, he’d gone to his bunk after handing his 2iC the conn, and then- falling. A crash. Freezing, burning cold.

and now… now he was alone on the ice, his ship, his beautiful ship sunk, trapped deep below the water. Xephos let out one more cough, then carefully pulled himself away from the hole in the ice, sprawling out.

"You okay out there?"

Xephos froze, then turned to look where the voice had come from. On the shore stood a small alien, his short figure looking almost as if it was made out of bricks. It wasn’t the oddest alien he had seen- that prize still went to the sentient shade of blue- but it was a near thing.

Xephos let out a breath, took in another, and committed a sin that his xenobiology instructor would kill him for. “I could use some help, yes."


	9. Quadrants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of an attempted series on the quadrants as framed by Zoethian. I made it through and <3

Zoeya frowned, only superficially working on her project. All of her focus was centered on the mage across the room from her, his back tense, his movements jerky. Even with her barely surface level comprehension of the magical arts, she could feel the tension in his magic from here. Rythian snarled at another broken strand of magic, another failed experiment due to his tension, and Zoeya couldn’t stand the tension in the air anymore. He had already driven Teep away on a scouting trip with his harsh words, and the animals were cowering in their pens. Carefully, she put away her reagents, tucking the potion vials away for later use.

One hand idly rubbed at the joint between flesh and metal as she frowned at her mage’s back, trying to decide the best way to approach him. Finally, she sighed, knowing the best route was always the ‘subtle’ one. Slowly, she approached, her steps just barely loud enough that he would hear her, loud enough that he wouldn’t startle, quiet enough that he wouldn’t be irritated at the noise.

She laid a hand on his shoulder, biting the inside of her lip at the tense, instinctive flinch before he forced himself to relax- before he realized it was her. It had been so long since they’d talked, she hadn’t realized how badly off he was. “Hey good lookin’ what’s cookin’?” Her voice was a study in lightness, the casual opening belaying the studying look she was giving him.

Rythian sighed, one hand coming up to rest on hers, tension slowly leaking out of his body at the contact. “No way out of it, is there?” His voice betrayed his bemusment as he started to disentangle his magic from the table in front of him.

“Nope!” Zoeya grinned at him and, encouraged by the so-far positive response, casually leaned against her mage, her free arm moving to drap over his shoulder, knowing the physical contact would help him ground in the present.

Rythian freed himself from the table, being careful to ground any stray magic he couldn’t reabsorb; cautious as always to not release anything into the air. “I’m clear.”

Zoeya grinned and pulled him away from the tent toward their beds, almost dragging along her mage; her poor, brave, too-strong, too-stubborn mage. There, in the shade of the bed-tent, with the two beds newly pushed together, she sat him down, pulling him under the light covers, tucking him in and curling around him. “Talk, love. What’s wrong?”

His brave facade held for a matter of seconds before he broke, spilling everything into the air while she listened and held him, their worlds reduced to each other in that moment.

__

Zoeya narrowed her eyes at Rythian, her upper lip curling up in a snarl. “How dare you. How dare you!” Her voice started low, but ratchets up into a shout, her anger clear and plain. “He was mine, not yours! He was never yours, give him back!”

Rythian smirked, and although his mask obscured most of his face, Zoeya had long since learned how to interpret the shift in the folds and contours of his mask. “I didn’t know you could possess people. Must be some science thing I didn’t know about.” His smirk grew wider, and he spread his hands expressively, showing not the least bit of worry that he was unarmored. “Besides, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

That- “You know that’s not what I meant!” Zoeya could barely see though her anger, and the urge to pull out her laser was almost overwhelming, the only thing holding her back was the need to see him brought to his knees before her, rather than dead. “You took Teep!” Her hand clenched the butt of her gun in it’s holder, and her eyes narrowed. “You will bring him back by this time tomorrow, or I’ll blow your sorry excuse for a castle sky high.”

Rather than waiting for an answer, she swirled on her heels and took off, jetpack leaving a dark trail behind her, and the taunting laughter of the cursed mage ringing in her ears.


	10. sototallyrythian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because at one point in time I wanted to see if I could make SoTotallyRythian work completely legitly. 
> 
> Ran out of steam, but it was intended to be a Beauty and the Beast inspired fic.

Toby chucked a hunk of metal after the retreating form of his best friend, and, although he missed, it made himself feel ever so slightly better. Ever since the cold had first hit with a vengeance, his normally good tempered friend turned into a massive git, all biting words and harsh humor. Normally, Toby dealt with it. After all, he’d known it was coming, but this year it had been worse with the early, hard onset of winter- as if his friend’s temper was matching the temper of the winds, which were currently howling through their camp. Toby huffed out an angry snarl, and went to go retrieve the metal- he couldn’t actually afford to lose it. They hadn’t been able to get much work done in their mines, not with Martyn acting like this.

Toby picked up the rock, noticing how, if Martyn hadn’t been already fading to merge with the forest, he would have been hit in the back. Toby tried to feel pride for his aim- but honestly just felt tired. He was sick of having to deal with his friend’s temper- and tired of losing his own. Toby carefully set the metal with the stack he had grabbed it from, and pulled up the hood to his hoodie, walking determinedly in the opposite direction of where Martyn had gone, not that that meant anything, not with Martyn merged with the forest. For all intents and purposes, Martyn -was- the forest, now, the trees and plants all extensions of himself.

Toby followed the path, it’s overgrown nature a sad tribute to the amount of times he’d gone this way. There was a village this way, sure, but why bother going there, when the forest and her fae were willing to give their beloved sapling king and his human friend the food and supplies they needed? Unfortunately, like everything else, the trade had dried off when the first frost hit, and now they were running low. Toby stared at the path, kicking at, and missing, a rock. Around him, the trees creaked and moaned in the wind, and beneath, the path twisted and turned. Doubt began to rise in his mind- had it taken this long before? Did the path have this many turns when he’d gone down it months ago in fall for the annual feast? Toby looked up, then around, a sick taste in the back of his mouth and panic began to rise- this wasn’t the path. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if this was their woods- it seemed darker, somehow. Older.

“Martyn? Come off it, mate, this isn’t funny, dude!” No answer. Toby looked around, fear twisting his gut as he realized the truth of the situation- he was lost in a dark, old forest, in the middle of winter, and the night was drawing closer. “Shit.”

_

Toby wrapped him arms tighter around himself,arms already tucked in under his hoodie, and sleeves pulled in to try and collect more warmth, but it felt as thought the wind was cutting straight through the fabric, chilling him to the bone. He’d been wandering the forest for what felt like hours, now, and he really didn’t know what to do. Tiredly, he tried yelling again. “Martyn!”

Nothing but the wind.

Toby bit his lip and carried on walking. The forest had to end some time, and he’d just circle the edge, like he’d done dozens of times before. He just… needed to get there, that’s all. And by the time he was back, Martyn would be calmer, he always was. Chances are, his spirit friend had the fire roaring, food warm and waiting for him. He could almost see the warm heat of the fire ahead of him, could almost smell the wood smoke, could almost hear the- Toby paused, then froze as he realized that he wasn’t imagining the fire ahead- there really was one up ahead. Toby broke into a wide grin at the thought of civilization, and his cold shuffle turned into a slightly faster trot, and he could almost feel the warmth of the distant fire when he broke through he clearing to see- hell.

A tall black castle towered above him, the matte color seeming to soak in the light emitting from the fire- a fire that seemed to be coming from a pit near the castle, lase with a dark purple substance that made his skin crawl to look at it. Frozen in terror, Toby considered turning and running back into the forest, he thought about just edging around the forest and avoiding the castle entirely, he thought about any of a number of things, and the indecision of it all caught him in a vice, torn between the horror he knew, and the horror he didn’t.

Unfortunately, the choice was taken out of his hands as out of nowhere a hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him, and he saw a horror worse than anything else. A large, reptilian beast had him, his sharp talons digging in. The creature was tall, covered entirely in green scales, a massive tail whipping behind it. It’s legs were bent -wrong-, and the head had more in common with a wolf than a man, but it stood upright, and it’s head was turned slightly to examine Toby. The creature let out a hiss and turned Toby towards the front of the castle, pushing the boy ahead of him. Toby, broken from his stupor, started to struggle, fists flying towards the beast, then, realizing he was too far away to hit the beast, clawing at it’s grip on his shoulder, his struggle only growing more and more frantic as they approached the front of the castle. Toby tried going after the spaces between the fingers as they approached the door, panic clouding his mind completely.

Fortunately, the creature released him shortly thereafter. - Unfortunately, it released him in order to shut the large, metal door behind them, as it’s opening had been automatic.

Toby fell to the ground, then frantically backpedaled across the floor as the creature eyed him, then let out a loud roar.


	11. Random drabbles

Daisy sighed as she opened the door of Peculier’s bar for the first time since the day she had been kidnapped, those long, long years ago. As her gaze swept across the room, her eyes settled at the bar, where her old friend had stood, day in and day out, listening to complaints and handing out the tap brew, and his own concoctions- but only when asked.

He had never liked his own brews, often preferring to import from other towns, rather than sell his own work.

Her lips twisted, and she hefted the broom up off her shoulder and down onto the dust and dirt laden floor. If she had any intention of making this place habitable, she had to clean it up and down. Briskly, she swept, moving the dust first into a bin, then out the back door- a location she’d had to clear of cobwebs, before using. Sweeping done, she went to get a bucket from her old house; she needed to mop.

_

The floor was swept and mopped, the walls washed and cobwebs had been ousted of the corners. The counter was cleaned, and the barrels of beer, ale, and mead evaluated for quality- over half had been spoiled, but there was still some that had stayed sealed and were still of quality.

Her wares were in place, now, after an afternoon of hauling and pushing, and Peculier’s- her. Her bar. Daisy’s Bar.

it seemed sacrilegious. It would always be Peculier’s, to her.

The bar was almost ready to open. Knowing she couldn’t procrastinate any longer, she went to the chest by the door, kneeling next to it as she opened it. The items inside hadn’t been touched since the heros had placed them there when they dropped her off on their way to their next adventure.

As she carefully pulled the items out of the chest, one by one, tears began to drip down her cheeks, and by the time she pulled out the large sword, carefully encased in a leather scabbard, she was sobbing, clutching the sword to her chest.

_

She didn’t know how long she kneeled there, surrounded by the bits and pieces of Peculier’s life surrounding her, his sword clutched to her like she wished it was him.

Eventually though, the tears dried, and she knew what she had to do.

Daisy wiped tears from her eyes and stood, the sword still clutched to her, as if by letting it go she’d shatter.

Carefully she stood, stepping over the clutter surrounding her as she walked carefully to the wall behind the bar. Calmly, she raised the sword above her head, placing it in the pegs she’d installed earlier in the day for just that reason. Releasing the weapon slowly, as her hand slid down the long, leather sheathed blade, Daisy felt her heartbreak keenly, and tears slid down her face. 

__

Zoeya bounded into the room, pulling Rythian slowly out of his slumber- a slow process that was suddenly sped up when she slid under the covers with him and pressed her feet against his back. Rythian let out a startled yelp at the sudden sensation of ice and flew out of the bed- taking the blankets with, and leaving a laughing Zoeya to roll on the bed, laughing like a hyena.

Rythian drew himself up with some dignity- as much as could be had while garbed only in blankets, asking “What was that for?”

Zoeya sat up, saying “It’s snowing!”

__

Teep bleated, a sound of pain the likes of which Zoeya had never heard before, and the sheer panic contained sent her running to the other side of the village, and up the wall without any real thought. The ladder slowed her down, but she pushed on, and when she slid to a halt by the dinosaur’s side, it was with panting breath.

“What’s wrong? Teep, what happened?” The dinosaur pointed with his long tail, and Zoeya’s heart dropped at the sight of a row of signs, the exact meaning lost, but the word ‘ransom’ clear as the desert sun.

__

Rythian flipped the page in his book, absorbed in the explanation as to how Flux was created by experimentation with the Older Magyks. Evidently, the Flux reactions depended on- his concentration was shattered by a shriek. Rythian shot up, eyes scanning the field intently. Spotting his brother’s blond hair, he bolted off, only to be sent stumbling over his own feet when the shriek repeated itself, this time followed by laughter. Mildly reassured, Rythian walked towards the origin, only to stop in his tracks, eyes wide.

Lalna grinned up at him, surrounded by a flock of chickens. “Can I keep’em?”

__

Rythian started his pilgrimage back up to the surface, absentmindedly drinking another health potion as he went. He knew that he didn’t really need one, but after those first, few, disastrous days when the old magic died and his lifestone broke without his noticing, he had gotten into the habit of drinking one regularly, just in case. He couldn’t have a repeat of that day, he couldn’t put Teep through that horror again, not after the way the dino had been panicking.

He needed to be there when she woke up, and he couldn’t do that if he couldn’t function. 

__

“Huh.” Nilesy frowned at the weird staff lying on the ground next to Baby Jim. “Is this yours?” It looked like a baby’s toy, all bright colors and curved edges. To be honest, it looked looked nothing more than like an oversized lollipop. A little too oversized, actually, but Baby Jim was a large one, that was for sure. “Let me just get this closer to you, you must have thrown it away.” Nilesy bent down and grabbed the large toy, and that was when the world seemed to bend and shape around him.

All of a sudden, everything seemed to make so much more sense. Things once complex were now simple, and Nilesy couldn’t help but grin and laugh, twirling in his hands what he now realized was a very powerful juju.

Nilesy pushed up off the ground and spun in the air, launching off towards Blackrock. If there was anyone in this world who needed the simple clarity of mind this wonderful juju provided, it was those two! 

__


	12. Rock Mage!AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this post](http://graywingsaloft.tumblr.com/post/59553498829/sexhaver-what-if-magic-was-real-but-it-was) that was going around tumblr, created in the tumblr text post form, at the prompting of cheeshelmet. Damn her.

Rythian shook out his gloves, already crease free, not only from his countless charms, but also from his having shaken them out five times in the last three minutes. Zoeya set her hands on his, steading them and flashing him a brilliant grin, the one that always made his nerves settle, his magic spooling in the hollows of his chest like a contented pet.

If Zoeya thought he would be able to pull this off- like he had pulled off the performance the night before, and the one before that, and the ones before that, stringing along behind them for weeks- then he would. He was sleeping in a bus, he wore the same outfit night after night after night, he was sick and tired of the mask that kept his glamour up, but Zoeya believed in him, and that was what mattered.

After all, that was what had gotten him up onto the stage and performing all those years ago.

Teep, his loyal summons turned familiar turned bodyguard knocked on the door- five minutes.

He flashed a grin at Zoeya, then pulled on his gloves and mask, feeling the protection spells and the glamour falling onto him like a cape.

He could do this.

He would do this.


	13. Ravs/Teep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written after viewing [this post](http://youtubeknits.tumblr.com/post/62356117152/the-third-part-in-a-smouldering-trilogy) on tumblr. As with most things- if you tell me you cannot see a thing, or dislike a thing, I will do the thing out of gleeful spite.

Teep shifted, moving the weight of the bag from one arm to the other as he ran to the bar. He had indicated that he’d bring some ingredients for the food the next time he came over, and it wasn’t until he had gotten halfway back the the castle that he had realized how that might have been conveyed to Ravs.

Recently, it had felt like there was a strange energy to their interactions- a sort of unspoken communication.

Not that much of their communication had been spoken, not since Tee had taken it on himself to teach Ravs the rudimentary sign language he had developed.

The first splash of water hitting his feet jerked Teep out of his thoughts, and he had to pay attention to the water, keeping his ingredients from getting wet, and, well, once he was out of the water… He had better things to think about.


End file.
